Shin-chi’s Canoe wins $25,000 award
One of the first picture books to tackle the difficult subject of residential schools has won a major literary prize. Shin-chi’s Canoe, written by Nicola I. Campbell of Vancouver and illustrated by Kim LaFave of Roberts Creek, B.C., has been recognized with the $25,000 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. The book tells the story of a six-year-old boy who leaves home with his older sister for many months, exploring their feelings of loss and homesickness for their family and the natural environment. The jury praised the Shin-chi’s Canoe as “Understated text with emotional truth hovering beneath the lines … The complementary softness of the illustrations seems to make the overwhelming sadness and loss the children experience more poignant.”